Medina embraces student perspective on Board of Education

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 May 2018 at 12:17 pm

Photo by Tom Rivers: David Sevenski (right) is president of the Medina Board of Education. The board met Tuesday to accept bids for a construction project. Sevenski supports having a student on the BOE.

MEDINA – The Board of Education will have a new ex-officio member next school year, a student leader who will offer insights on how board decision affect the student body.

Voters on Tuesday approved, 259-75, having a student on the Board of Education, without voting privileges. The student also won’t be allowed in executive session where the board discusses personnel and litigation.

The board will determine the process for appointing the student. Some districts have the student body president fill the role, and others go through an application process. The one stipulation is the student must be a senior. Medina can also have an alternate because the student will likely be busy attending other school activities.

“It’s two-sided,” said David Sevenski, the board president who supported having a student on the board. “We’ll get the benefit of their insight and they’ll get to see the interworkings of a municipal government.”

The BOE typically meets twice a month. Mark Kruzynski, the district superintendent, urged the board to embrace a student perspective. He said other districts have students as ex-officio members.

“It will give students a voice,” Kruzynski said. “It has been tried throughout the state.”

Medina will have a student on a trial basis for two years, and can extend it after that.

“Our board was all for it,” Kruzynski said. “They want to hear from the students.”